Core · Bodyweight
Prisoner Get-up
How to do the prisoner get-up, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Lie on your back with your hands laced behind your head, elbows out. Keeping your hands in place, brace your core and use your legs and trunk to stand all the way up, then reverse the motion to lie back down under control. The hands-behind-head position removes your arms as a counterweight, so your core and legs do all the work.
- 1Deep tension through your abs as you rise and lower
- 2Your legs and glutes driving you up to standing
- 3Controlled movement throughout rather than momentum
Common mistakes
- Yanking on your head or neck with your hands
- Using a fast jerk to throw yourself up
- Rounding or straining your lower back as you stand
Muscles worked
The prisoner get-up mainly works the lower abs, upper abs, quads, and glutes, with the lower back, obliques, hamstrings, hip flexors, and calves assisting.
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Upper AbsPrimary
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- Lower BackSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- LatsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- AdductorsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the prisoner get-up for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.